Tarbela fifth extension 56% complete : generation to commence in April 2027: WAPDA

ISLAMABAD: Chairman WAPDA Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed (Retd) Tuesday visited in detail the major components of Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project (T5 HPP) being constructed on Tunnel No. 5 of Tarbela Dam with financial assistance of World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Member (Water) Syed Ali Akhtar Shah, Member (Power) Muhammad Arfan Miana, GM/PD T5 HPP, GM Tarbela Dam and GM (Power) Tarbela, Advisor Projects WAPDA and Advisor T4 & T5 were also present on the occasion.
During the visit, the Chairman was briefed about progress, challenges and timelines for completion of critical activities on intake structure, connecting tunnel, powerhouse, switch yard and transmission line. He was further briefed that overall progress on the project stands at 56%. With completion of civil and electro-mechanical works, first unit of the project is scheduled to start electricity generation in April 2027.
Reviewing progress on the project, the Chairman said that construction pace needs to be accelerated on key work fronts such as connecting tunnel and powerhouse with concerted efforts on part of the consultants, the contractors and WAPDA’s project team. He also directed the project management to ensure quality of works stipulated for implementation of the project.
Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project has a cumulative generation capacity of 1530 MW with three generating units of 510 MW each. World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are providing US$ 390 million and US$ 300 million respectively for construction of the project. Tarbela 5th Extension will provide 1.466 billion units low-cost, green and clean electricity to the National Grid every year. With completion of Tarbela 5th Extension, the installed power generation capacity at Tarbela Dam will increase from 4888 MW to 6418 MW.
Later, the Chairman also visited low level outlets and power house of the 1410 MW-Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project. Since its commissioning in 2018, Tarbela 4th Extension has so far provided 33 billion units of electricity to the National Grid.